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BILLY WILL ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS FOR ONE HOUR ON A LIVE BLOG – WED. @ NOON

Must PRE register at the Advertiser site to comment or ask questions on “THE HOT SEAT”.

As the budget picture gets worse, the state and all of Hawaii’s counties are grappling with cuts, labor reductions and charting a lean course ahead.

For the counties — charged with fundamental issues such as roads, sewers, police and fire services — cutting back has posed some tough choices. In Honolulu, that means higher property tax rates as well as higher fees for a variety of services.

What about the Neighbor Islands? Joining us Wednesday will be Big Island Mayor Billy Kenoi. To join the conversation, log on at noon and post your questions for Mayor Kenoi live during the hour.

P.S. if you can’t make the live session, you can e-mail your questions to me in advance at jmbelding@honoluluadvertiser.com and I’ll try to post it for you during the live session. Or you can post your questions here, and I’ll move them over once the live session starts.